German steel body calls on EU to counter U.S. steel tariffs

Reuters Staff

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FRANKFURT, March 9 (Reuters) - Germany’s steel association called on the European Union to come up with effective countermeasures to the imposition of U.S. import tariffs on steel and aluminum, warning Europe might be forced to absorb more volumes as a result.

“With this decision, the USA has largely sealed itself off from the rest of the world,” Hans Juergen Kerkhoff, the association’s president, said in a statement, adding there was a risk that steel might now flood the European market.

“The European Union now needs to protect its local steel industry from the consequences of this protectionist U.S. policy in a comprehensive and effective way.” (Reporting by Christoph Steitz Editing by Douglas Busvine)